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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 116 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: lash · vault · tear · degree · bore · bat · fan · face

  1. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  9. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  10. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  13. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. lash — to lash out
  3. bat — the animal
  4. lash — an eyelash
  5. face — to point toward
  6. vault — a safe
  7. tear — from crying
  8. vault — in gymnastics
  9. bore — to tire
  10. bore — gave birth
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. vault — an arched ceiling
  13. bore — to drill
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. lash — a whip stroke
  16. tear — from crying
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. degree — from a university
  19. face — part of the head
  20. degree — temperature
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. degree — an amount
  23. tear — to rip
  24. face — to confront

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com